Profile: A converted outfielder, Jason Kipnis is not going to make anyone forget Frank White with the glove. However, while Dustin Ackley justly received accolades for his impressive hitting in 2012, Kipnis has a chance to be almost as good with the bat as Ackely down the road. He always hit in the minors, with a good approach and some pop, especially given his position. Cleveland really does not have any better options, and Kipnis arguably should have been up sooner in 2011. It is hard to get excited about .265/.325/.445, but that is a good projection for a second baseman, and it would not be surprising if Kipnis hit considerably better than that in 2012. (Matt Klaasen)

The Quick Opinion: Kipnis is not as good as he showed in 150 major-league plate appearances in 2011, but his offensive potential is very real for a second baseman. He might not be a superstar, but don't wait too long to get him cheap.

Profile: Kipnis burst onto the scene in 2011, posting a .272/.333/.507 line in 150 plate appearances and tacking on seven home runs and five stolen bases for good measure. Pro-rated to a 600-PA season, that would be 28 HR and 20 SB -- enough to make Kipnis a potentially elite second baseman. 2012 was not as kind, though. He maintained the on-base percentage, thanks to increased patience and fewer strikeouts, but his average and power dropped considerably. No one is sneezing at a .257 AVG, 14 HR and 31 SB out of a middle infielder, but fantasy owners has to be disappointed with a weak second half. Really, though, Kipnis's issues came down to a single bad (REALLY bad) month of August. The rest of the year, he gave good reason to believe the improved plate discipline is real and, if that holds up and the power bounces back, you could be looking at a star in the making. (Chad Young)

The Quick Opinion: Kipnis will provide at least good value from the second base slot and potentially could be one of the top players at the position this year. As with any young player, he is no sure thing, but 15 home runs, 20 stolen bases and good numbers across the board should be easily attainable goals.

Profile: Quick, off the top of your head, who leads second basemen in stolen bases over the last two seasons? If you guessed Jason Kipnis, you could be forgiven, since this is about him. The actual answer is Jose Altuve, but Kipnis is second. What about homers? This time if you guessed Kipnis, you are not forgiven, as he is only eighth on this list. But combined, Kipnis has comfortably more stolen bases plus homers than any other 2B, averaging 15 HR and 30 SB over the last two seasons. And another 15-30 type season (at least 15-25, maybe even 20-30) seems likely for Kipnis in 2014. His average won't be the best (.284 in '13, but propped up by a .345 batting average on balls in play), but he walks at a good clip, bats near the top of the Indians lineup, and runs the bases well, which means he is going to pile up the runs, as well. Kipnis had a rough second half, and if you are lucky, that means his cost will come down a bit. Or maybe you can find an owner who is bearish and willing to sell him. But if you can, you want to have Kipnis on your roster. A year without his second-half fade will have him atop the second base rankings by September. (Chad Young)

The Quick Opinion: For the last two seasons, Jason Kipnis has been a top-five fantasy asset at second base, and is in the argument for the top three (he's fourth in ottoneu Points). His second half wasn't pretty, but don't let that scare you away from an elite producer at a middle infield position.

Profile: How much you trust Jason Kipnis heading into the 2015 season is based almost entirely on how much you believe his oblique injury contributed the down year he had in 2014. After a breakout sophomore season, Kipnis was a consensus top five option at second base. Now, it's unclear where he stands. Kipnis hit the disabled list with the oblique injury on April 30 -- just 28 games into the season -- and played through the injury for the rest of the season. His power production dropped immensely. He stopped hitting the ball to the opposite field -- previously his bread-and-butter -- and his production on fly balls to the pull field plummeted. Unable to pull the ball with authority, he ended up rolling over a lot of grounders on the right side of the infield into the shift. His production on ground balls was among the ten worst in the MLB, a list otherwise exclusively populated by catchers and aging first baseman. Kipnis, a young, speedy second baseman, is the absolute outlier on that list, which screams bounceback. As for how much power will return, that's contingent on how much you think the oblique zapped his power. At the very least, Kipnis is a lock for 25+ steals. If the power returns with a healthy oblique, he could end up being a major steal if others owners are wary of his 2014. (August Fagerstrom)

The Quick Opinion: Kipnis was a major disappointment to fantasy owners in 2014, but a lot of his troubles could be attributed to an oblique injury he dealt with for nearly the entire season. His abysmal production on ground balls simply isn't sustainable, and the oblique is a reasonable explanation for his power to the pull field disappearing. As long as he starts the season with a healthy oblique, which he should, Kipnis could wind up being a nice little sleeper pick.

Profile: After injuries sunk his 2014, Kipnis reasserted himself in 2015, dropping a .303/.372/.451 line. It was slightly on the empty side, as neither his nine homers nor 12 stolen bases will set the world on fire (though anything north of 20 HR+SB is useful), but it was certainly a good second base performance, depending on format and scoring. And there is room for optimism. Kipnis didn't see his home run per fly ball rate rebound all the way in 2015, and his fly ball rate dropped. His walk rate also has room to improve again, particularly if he continues to give pitchers reason to avoid throwing to him. If an uptick in walk rate can balance out some batted ball luck regression (though he has now shown an aptitude for high-BABIP hitting with a career .320), he can keep the elite on-base skills, post another excellent average, and perhaps even add enough home runs and stolen bases to climb up the rankings a bit further. Taking out 2014, healthy Kipnis has now put up three excellent fantasy seasons "in a row" and is still in his prime. He's shouldn't be the first 2B off the board, but he's a solid top-five option for 2015. (Chad Young)

The Quick Opinion: Throw out the ugly, injury-plagued 2014 and Kipnis's 2015 looks like it was right in line with his career performance as a top-tier fantasy second sacker. Expect 2016 to look like peak Kipnis.